gitp_empirefandomcom-20200214-history
Woodwind
Woodwind is the home of the Woodwind people and formed the capital region for the former Ignato Empire. Geography Situated in a transitionary climate between the jungles of Aloren and the forests of Nyroth the land held by the Woodwind people has abundant natural resources and its oceanfront border encourages fishing and allows a solid barrier against overland armies on the western side. The beaches along the western border are known as the Sapphire Shores and are said to shine with the beauty of a thousand gemstones when the sun sets over the water. Housing many settlements, the largest of the Woodwind people, the Shore is a jubilant and lively place. Sapphire Shores is home to the capital of the Woodwind people, a quasi-fort city known to the people as Water's Watch, which stands on the coast and contains about a sixth of the total population and has housed the leading Chancellor of the region for all remembered and recorded generations. Spanning much of the middle-north of Woodwind territory and running up against the eastern border, the Eurial Forest is home to a diverse group of animals and plants and provides lumber and good land for settlement. While the larger settlements along the shore dwarf those nearer the forest a plethora of hamlets and villages make up the interior lands. A great monument situated near the northern border, the Stonetable is a large rock plateau that towers over the land around it. Nearly two miles across from side to side, the Stonetable is a strange natural phenomenon but its relative lack of useful material leaves it largely as a simple guidepost with which to discern the border and only a few settlements stand near it. People Dark skinned, tall and sharp-featured humans, the people of the Woodwind are generally lithe, but well built, natural hunters. Most have brown eyes though some are born with green and are said to be infused more deeply with the nature of the world around them. The people of Woodwind have a relatively peaceful internal history. Coastal cities, established by the first settlers said to have arrived in ancient times rose slowly over the course of decades and the plentiful fishing kept the people there satisfied and allowed them to build. Ancient stories tell of a single great schism arising within the people and the banishment of a more militant and hostile faction of the Woodwind People away from the coastal lands and this banishment and push by the banishers led the Woodwind people to expand their holdings inland. As they expanded inward they encountered others with strong hunter gatherer traditions that had built up livelihood in the woods and established their own civilization. The coastal city state and the inner woodlands tribes coexisted and soon trade prospered between them and over time the more politically dominant coastal cities absorbed their inland neighbors into the fold establishing the dominion owned by the Woodland peoples. The government of the Woodland people was one of inherited monarchy, led by the eldest child of the last reigning Khan upon his death this tradition dates back to the society's inception. No texts speak of the origin of this government but the legends say the first Khan was the first man to organize the fishing villages so that they could grow and support one another, guided by the light of Ignatumna and that he went on to build the great keep at Water's Watch that sheltered the people from the Great Storm and in so doing became their savior and their Khan and he being wise and disciplined dictated the laws of succession and of governance, stating that an Ignato would always lead the tribe and that under a Khan the people would become great. The people of Woodwind had not been overly aggressive in their relations with outsiders prior to the year 330. Though their land was defended the borders were somewhat nebulous and interaction with outsiders was usually for trade. With the rise of Khan Dyamus Ignato the political nature of Woodwind changed. Borders were quickly defined and expanded and the relatively stagnant population of Woodwind was whipped into a powerful fighting and invading force. Aloren, the land to the south of Woodwind fell under the Khan's expansion first and intermarriage between the lower castes was encouraged, however the Ignato line remained purely Woodwind in stock. When Nyroth fell to the Doomkhan it followed a similar suit as Aloren, its lower castes mixing and muddling time is quickly eroding provincial differences in people and many in Woodwind have begun to adopt Alorese and Nyrothian customs. At the time of the Triumvirate unification the people of Woodwind were already well integrated in working with their neighboring provinces and people. Settlements Capital of the province, though small, Water's Watch is little more than a wooden walled fort with a speckling of houses and shops surrounding it. The city has grown haphazardly over the years and many poorer sectors have run down into slums under poor care and mismanagement, though Beregine slums have seen a resurgence thanks to the efforts of Bereginian mercenaries. Despite this, the central fort palace itself remains in relatively good condition and it is from here the Chancellor of Woodwind wields his authority. Built by the Jeweled Cities in an agreement with the former Ignato Empire, Emerald City is a bustling trade port that has attracted much business and merchants, foreign and domestic, to its walls. The administration of the city is split between the Triumvirate and AQUA, with the Triumvirate given power to appoint a Governor capable of enforcing Triumvirate law and maintaining order and AQUA appointing a Captain-Administrator given leeway to handle the economic and AQUA based administration within the city, namely the post established to receive the Nyroth silk gathered by local Jeweled Cities traders in Nyroth. The city itself is known to be the wildest within the Triumvirate provinces owing to its Islander origin and while order is maintained for the most part crimes and dissidents can find relative safety within its streets. Resources Abundant dire boar for hunting, a coast for fishing, and a vast forest makes the Woodwind land a producer of food and timber. Unfortunately the land has been found largely lacking in mineral resources, notably platinum which is much prized throughout the province forcing the region to find a supplier of the precious metal. Religion The majority of Woodwind, having long been a member of the Triumvirate, follows the teachings of Radurja and the Shahidi Mkuu though a few traditionalists still hold onto the animistic ties of the past and a few preserve the traditions taught to them by the Calorum Reformation Priests decades ago. The primary Radurjic spirit in Woodwind is Ignatumna, explained in detail from this excerpt from the Radurjic Codex. : An Excerpt from the Radurjic Codex Dated in the Year 370 : Woodwind Religious Beliefs – The Great Boar, The Conqueror, The Blazing Oak are epithets for the primary spirit followed within the province of Woodwind. Noted by Radurjan scholars to be officially recorded within texts as Ignatumna, this spirit in various forms has appeared in Woodwind history for as far back as recorded. Originally a simple spirit associated with nature and rites of passage for young men symbolized by the boar the spirit soon expanded when the Ignato family claimed power within Water’s Watch by claiming to be chosen by Ignatumna. Texts are unclear as to which direction the naming went. Needless to say the spirit saw some significant growth and interpretation as the oak leaf, already a symbol of the Ignato family, was taken to be associated with the spirit as well. So too with the rise in power of the Ignato bloodline the spirit came to be associated with conquest, the assimilation of the various Woodwind tribes into one. '' : ''It is surprising then that until the rise of Khan Dyamus Ignato Woodwind, himself not overly religious, Woodwind remained relatively peaceful. Calorum Fire Reformation saw the Oak leaf of the Ignato line become the Blazing Oak and so too it entered into the portrayal of the spirit. Appearing in art most often as a mighty boar with great tusks or as a flaming oak leaf recent interpretations have seen Ignatumna portrayed as a Woodwind warrior bearing a marked resemblance to the Khan of Khans Dyamus Ignato. This has been adopted without much question and the Ignato clan has not spoken in favor or in opposition to this close association. Category:Regions Category:Former Capital Regions Category:Regions of Telluris Category:Former Tellurian Capital Regions